Nautilus belauensis | |
---|---|
Nautilus belauensis in Palau | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Cephalopoda |
Subclass: | Nautiloidea |
Order: | Nautilida |
Family: | Nautilidae |
Genus: | Nautilus |
Species: | N. belauensis
|
Binomial name | |
Nautilus belauensis Saunders, 1981
|
The Palau nautilus (Nautilus belauensis) is a nautiloid mainly found off of Palau in the Western Carolines.[2] It can be found on fore reef slopes,[3] at depths of 95m-504m (311'-1,653'), though typically preferring a range of 150m-300m (492'-984'), where water temperatures stay around 16.6 °C (61.88°F) and do not go much lower than 9.4 °C (48.92°F).[4] N. belauensis are highly mobile, epibenthic scavengers and opportunistic predators which rely mostly on scent for finding food.[4] They are active both diurnally and nocturnally within their preferred depth ranges,[4] although most shallow-water incursions are, generally, nocturnal events that coincide with greatly diminished fish activities.[4]